Karl Lagerfeld may have been two hours late to his own cocktail party, but that didn't stop the crowds at Selfridges on London's Oxford Street last night. While enthusiastic shoppers downstairs flocked to check out the launch of his Karl Man + Woman and Karl Lagerfeld Paris Man collections, six stories up on the rooftop the designer's friends and well-wishers waited patiently for him to arrive on the hottest evening of the summer so far. Harley Viera-Newton looked after the music while Daphne Guinness, Jefferson Hack, Edie Campbell, Poppy Delevigne, and Mario Testino enjoyed champagne and canapés on the roof's black carpets. Under a line of white flags emblazoned with Mr. Lagerfeld's ponytailed profile, discussion centered on the collection, the heat and Friday's Opening Ceremony at the Olympic Park.

Alongside the shop-in-shop showcases on the third floor of the department store, he launched an Olympic-themed pop-up entitled , Team Karl, featuring a capsule collection of limited-edition t-shirts with an image of the designer hurling a discus amongst others. Karl, the Olympian? Perhaps the multi-talented man has yet another skill to show off.

Hilary Alexander, longtime fashion director of London's Telegraph, said of the new collection, "It looks to me like Karl's going for gold, silver and bronze. It's a bit bling-tastic, but I like that. It's certainly in line with the season's metallic trend." When Lagerfeld eventually did arrive, he was thronged with both fans and friends eager to congratulate him on his latest iconic endeavor—and a waiter was on stand-by with his favorite Diet Coke, of course.

But with the Olympic Games kicking off this Friday, heads were turned by one guest in particular, Asif Khan, who had arrived straight from carrying the Olympic torch on its relay earlier that day. With his gold torch in hand, he was ready to pose for photos with patriotic partygoers. Khan's architecture firm, Pernilla & Asif, has designed Beatbox, an interactive Olympic Park Pavilion in collaboration with Coca-Cola and Mark Ronson. "The bus with the torch-bearers today was the strangest mix of really famous athletes on one hand and teenage cancer survivors on the other," said Khan. "It puts it all into perspective, and you get why the Games are so important. It's about the stories that people have."